If you spend any appreciable amount of time browsing Facebook or Twitter on a web browser, you’re no doubt excited about the possibilities of the new kid in town, RockMelt. But why abandon Safari when you can bring the social to the browser installed with every Mac?

If you use Chrome instead of Safari (we wouldn't blame you, it's a fine browser) and have an iPhone, we've got an extension for you. The Chrome to iPhone extension adds a little button to your toolbar that shares the URL of the page you're at with your iOS device. Android users have had the extension for a while, with Chrome to Phone.

After that last huge update, we switched to Safari as our default browser, and we have to say that we're really impressed. For one, the browser's speed and streamlined user interface made surfing the web a whole different experience for us. And all of the new Safari updates, including the Reader, HTML5 support and extensions sold us on switching to Safari permanently.

We kicked Chrome and Firefox to the curb and tried out Safari's extensions for a change. Out of Apple's entire Safari Extensions Galley, we wanted to make sure that our readers steered clear of the most inane ones, and that we chose the best of the duplicates. Some of them are quirky (like a few featured in the miscellaneous section), but the majority are incredibly utilitarian and a great way to add in little short cuts here and there from your browser window. Safari extensions are a tool that you do not want to take for granted. Read on to find out how you, too, can implement these handy extensions into your internet endeavors.

If you thought Apple had exhausted its goody bag for the week with new hardware on Tuesday, think again. Wednesday morning, Apple made available a Safari 5.0.1 update, with the major new addition being a Safari Extensions Gallery and a whole lotta third-party extensions from major players like Twitter, Bing, eBay and more.

We were a bit surprised when Apple announced the release of Safari 5. We hadn’t heard rumors about the new version, or the features that it contained. This update is not just simply a rehash of the previous version of Safari, though. It includes all new features and some never-before-seen things that make Safari 5.0 our favorite little browser on the Mac.

There was a collective sigh of relief on Monday night when Apple released Safari 5 into the wild, particularly over the new ability to install extensions to expand the browser’s possibilities. If you’ve been scratching your head wondering where to find such extensions, wonder no more.

If you’re anything like us, you can’t live without Agile Web Solutions’ excellent 1Password software. So imagine our pain when we installed Safari 5 on Monday night, only to discover 1Password was broken -- that is, until an hour or two later when a rapid-fire update brought it back to life.

Your web browser can Google, it can YouTube, and it can even Twitter, but if that’s all you’re doing with it, you haven’t scratched the surface of its potential. A universe of extensions and bookmarklets is out there, and these free software add-ons give your browser the power to remove ads, reshuffle web pages to your liking, speed up your downloads, rip videos, and perform other wizardly feats. You can even get into the act with Mobile Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re already armed with a suite of your favorite extensions, our guide to the best browser add-ons will transform your time surfing. It’ll practically feel like magic.

It was the biggest let down when Chrome was first released. Whaaaat? No
Mac version? But, but, but, Apple and Google were the best of buds back
in those days. How could they do this to us? How could they treat us
like that?

Then Chrome arrived for Macs. And another heartbreak
followed in its wake. Every single new feature they've added to the
browser, Google has rolled out first for Windows users months earlier.
And this time is no exception.